Input devices to a digital computer are well known in the art. One type of input device is the so-called "mouse" wherein movement of the mouse causes a position indicator on a video display connected to the digital computer to move in the same direction and magnitude. Typically, a mouse comprises a pair of transducers which detect the movement of the mouse in two orthogonal directions and supplies those signals to the digital computer. In addition, a mouse usually has two or three keys which can be activated and whose signals are also supplied to the digital computer.
One of the shortcomings of the prior art mouse is that a mouse cannot be used to enter data, i.e. text or numbers. Further, the prior art mouse can be used to only issue a minimal number of commands. Because the mouse has only two or three keys, commands are entered by clicking, double clicking, or even triple clicking the keys on the mouse. This results in a maximum of nine types of different commands.
Another problem with prior art mouse is that many programs are written to display commands which are displayed on the periphery of the display device. In order to activate these commands, the mouse must be physically moved to cause the position indicator to be positioned over the commands thereby activating the commands. Once the command has been executed, the mouse must be moved back to the original position if the user wishes to continue at the original position.
Finally, although prior art mouses provided the capability for the user to reprogram the function of the mouse keys, the user must use the keyboard keys to reprogram the functions of the keys on the mouse.